1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a needle assembly structured to facilitate substantially complete removal, if not entirely complete removal of a pharmaceutical or other fluid composition from the interior of a vial or like container. The needle assembly of this invention is structured to permit the selective adjustment of its cooperative components relative to one another as the needle assembly is oriented for extraction of the composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
The administration of a pharmaceutical composition to a patient by injection frequently requires the transfer of the pharmaceutical from a vial or like container into a syringe or like instrument. In doing so, a typical procedure involves forcing a sharpened tip of the needle of the syringe into the interior of the vial and into fluid communication with the pharmaceutical composition contained therein. In some instances, the vial is then inverted while adjusting the position of the needle to assure that the open receiving tip of the needle is submerged within the composition. An intended dose or measure of the pharmaceutical composition is then withdrawn from the vial and deposited into the barrel of the syringe. As commonly practiced, the above described extraction procedure requires an individual to closely monitor the position of the needle to assure that it remains submerged within the medication being extracted. This is to prevent excess air from being inadvertently drawn into the barrel of the syringe. However, when practicing the above-noted procedure, it is extremely difficult to remove substantially all of the medication from the vial, especially the last remnants thereof, which may collect at various hard to reach areas within the vial.
While there are some pharmaceutical compositions which, by their nature, allow for the vial to be opened in order that the last remnants thereof may be collected and used, there are others used in the modern day practice of medicine which are hazardous to humans, and which are not at all suitable for this. For example, certain pharmaceutical compositions such as, but not limited to radioactive pharmaceuticals are carcinogens and must be safely stored in lead-free containers, etc. Some of these and/or other pharmaceuticals must be stored under sterile conditions, such that the vials containing such pharmaceuticals cannot be opened or manipulated freely to remove all drops or remnants of them left collecting at the bottom of a vial. To compound this situation, these and other pharmaceutical compositions are often extremely expensive, and as such, it is important that all or substantially all of the composition be extracted and used.
As such various attempts have been made to address these problems and to improve the extraction procedure. For example, one known attempt involves the use of special extraction needles which are generally larger and otherwise structured to facilitate removal of the composition. However, such extraction needles and the syringes associated therewith may not be structured nor adaptable to inject the pharmaceutical directly into a patient or other intended target. More specifically, larger syringes and associated needles cannot be used to accurately dispense relatively small dosages of medicines directly into a patient or other intended target. Further, the vials associated with such pharmaceuticals often have an irregular, inner bottom or floor surface, and as such, conventional extraction instruments are not effectively capable of positioning the distal receiving end of the extraction needle into communication with the last remnants of the composition being removed.
Therefore, there is a significant and long recognized need in the field of art relating to the dispensing of pharmaceutical compositions for a needle assembly having the structural and operational versatility to effectively remove substantially all, if not all of a given composition from a container, especially when the size of the container, as well as the quantity of composition being removed, may vary greatly. Further, in accomplishing complete or substantially complete removal of the composition from a container, any such needle assembly developed should be capable of being selectively disposed into an operative position in a stable and reliable manner and should be further structured to prevent contamination of the composition during removal thereof from the container.